Primeval: The Alternative Universe
by MrandMrsTemple
Summary: My version of Series 4. Helen Cutter is dead but the anomaly team has a greater threat still to face. The entire world they have lived and grown up in is a lie. Can they restore it to its true self and what consequences will there be?
1. The Voice

Danny knelt on the ground where the anomaly had been, holding his head in his hands and fighting the urge to sob in anger and despair. The situation Abby, Connor and he had been in had already been bad enough when the anomaly opener had lost power, now that they were trapped in different times it was even worse.

But it wouldn't get any better by just kneeling here. Danny stood up and took a look at his surroundings, all around him as far as the eye could see there was nothing but bleak, red rocks and arid scubland. Down in the valley was the lake but Danny knew it would be of no help to his survival now that Helen has poisoned it. WIth a sad sense of realisation, he kept walking through the Pliocene, knowing that his only hope was to find an open anomaly, if there was even one to be found that is.

* * *

By nightfall, Danny was hungry, thirsty and exhausted. He had spent hours trekking through the scrubland, finding nothing, no food and no anomaly. His water supplies had long since been used up and now he was in danger not only because of his deyhration and hunger, but in his state at this time of night, it would not be long before he started attracting hungry carnivores. Lions, hyenas, sabre toothed cats, all of these creatures would happily attack a weak human. After all, they regularly dined on man's hominid ancestors.

As the sun disappeared over the horizon, Danny set to work on finding a suitable place to spend the night. He soon found it in the form of a lone acacia tree, a welcome sight after seeing nothing but brown grass and rocks all day. He went up to it and touched its bark, it felt rough to the touch but Danny didn't care, as long as it would provide him a place to sleep it was fine.

However, no sooner had he started to climb it, he heard a low growl. He looked up to see a pair of bright green eyes staring at him from amongst the leaves, then as they moved into the ever fading light, Danny saw who they belonged to: a leopard. It had obviously been there for a while because wedged in a fork in the branches was the mangled corpse of a baboon. Perhaps it thought that Danny had come to try and steal its kill. With a snarl it leapt down in front of him, its teeth bared menacingly as it stalked towards him.

Suddenly, Danny heard a soft, almost inabudible voice.

"Daniellllll Quinnnnnnnn" it whispered. Danny looked around for the source of the voice but saw no one. Instead, he saw and heard something even better. With a wooshing sound a new anomaly appeared before his very eyes. Danny gave a whoop for joy, but then heard the snarl of the leopard as it headed towards him. Without a second thought, Danny dashed through the anomaly.

The leopard however stood where it was in front of the anomaly. It had never seen anything like it before but at least it seemed to have gotten rid of the intruder. The leopard turned away from the anomaly and leapt back up into the tree, just in time to fend off a small owl that had been nibbling on the dead baboon's arm.

* * *

Danny found himself in a very different place to the one he had left behind. It was a cool, misty place with grass which Danny could feel beneath his feet. But that was not the most extraordinary thing about it. Surrounding him were hundreds, thousands of anomalies. Danny had heard about a place like this once, Connor had told him about it, this must be the spaghetti junction of anomalies. Although it looked diferent to the picture Dany had seen of it, mainly because of the thick mist that was surrounding him, emersing him in its coolness.

"Daniellll Quinnnnnn" came the soft voice again. Danny looked around for the source once more but saw nothing.

"Who are you?" he cried into the mist. "Where are you, what do you want?"

"I wish to converse with you" came the voice like soft rain. "As for my wherabouts, that shall become clear to you very soon."

"How so?" asked Danny.

"Follow the path through the anomalies." As the voice spoke, some of the mist before Danny cleared to reveal a thin strip of long, green grass, which stretched and winded its way between the countless anomalies.

"Follow the path, Danny" came the voice once again.

Danny hesitated, on one hand this could be a trap. But on the other, if it wasn't, it might just help him to get home and be reunited with his friends. Taking care not to step off into the mist, he followed the grassy path.


	2. An Old Face Returning

James Lester sat at his desk in the ARC and for the fourth time that day picked up the phone and dialed Captain Becker's number.

"Becker, give me a nice surprise. Tell me that Quinn has returned."

"Sorry Lester, no sign of him."

"And what about Pinky and the Brain?"

"If you mean Abby and Connor sir, then no there's still no sign of them either."

"Very well." said Lester. "Come back to the ARC now and bring Sarah with you."

"What about the anomaly, sir?"

"I'm sure we can afford to sacrifice a few men to guard it" said Lester in a sarcastic tone. He put the phone down and sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, he wished Professor Cutter was still here. He wouldn't have gotten lost in some insane chase after Helen. He actually seemed to know what he was doing, unlike Quinn who seemed all too happy to run the entire anomaly project into the ground with his reckless leading. Now thanks to him, three fifths of the team were trapped in some far away time zone, and chances were they would never return. The solution to this was obvious to Lester, he needed new team members.

The question was who to recruit? Lester had been over the records of people who knew about the anomalies, ones that weren't dead and weren't on the team that is. The list was not long and on the whole, it was not a good one. There was that clown Duncan who had stolen a dodo, but he was now serving community service and from what little Lester knew about him, if he were let on to this team he'd last about five minutes before going down some dinosaur's gullet.

There was also that Caroline Steel, but Lester had several reasons not to recruit her. One was that she was in prison serving a fifteen year sentence for espionage, and also she had worked for Leek. As far as Lester was concerned, anybody who worked for Leek should be in prison.

And then there was Abby's brother, Jack. Lester espescially didn't want to recruit him. From what Danny Quinn had told him he was a selfish little overgrown schoolboy with the intelligence levels of a grub.

That left only one person, a person who would be extremely difficult to get back. But if the team was to survive in any way, Lester would have to try to get her back. Once more he picked up the telephone and dialed the number he wanted.

* * *

The telephone at Jenny Lewis' house rang. She picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Jenny" came Lester's voice down the line.

"James" said Jenny disbelievingly. It had been months since she had heard that voice and she had been sure she would not hear it again. "What a surprise" she said politely.

"Yes well, I've got one for you too" said Lester. "Connor, Abby and Quinn have gone missing."

"Missing, how?"

"They were following Helen Cutter on some fool's mission and it's now been hours since they've left."

"Well, haven't you sent Becker and his men after them?" asked Jenny.

"The anomaly that they were last seen going through led to the future" said Lester. "And I'm sure I don't have to remind you of how dangerous the creautres there are."

Jenny shuddered, she remembered those creatures only too well.

"And so anyway" continued Lester, "I'm calling to ask you to come back to the team."

Jenny's response was instantaneous. "No!" she said sharply. "I'm sorry James, but I swore I would never come back to the team and I meant it."

"I know, but in this time of crisis, should something like that really matter right now?" said Lester. "The team needs you, Jenny Lewis. There's no one else I can call. And frankly if you don't come back then...Abby, Connor and Quinn are as good as dead."

Jenny sighed. She was silent and for a moment, Lester thought that maybe she had decided not to come back. Finally though, she spoke again.

"Alright, I'll come."

"Fabulous" said Lester. "Shall we say about 6:30 this evening?"

"I'll see you then" said Jenny. And she put down the phone and made ready to go back to the life she thought she'd never return to.


	3. An Important Discovery

Abby stirred awake, she felt Connor's arm's wrapped around her, heard his soft snoring in her ear. Last night it had gotten cold and so they had decided to snuggle up together for warmth. This morning however it was warm and the sun was completing its ascent over the distant mountains. It was a beautiful morning and for a moment, Abby just felt like lying back with Connor and just taking it all in.

Then she remembered what had happened yesterday. The raptors, Danny going after Helen, and then her and Connor climbing the tree that they had spent the night in. She turned back to Connor and shook him gently. He gave a loud snort and then woke drowsily.

"Wha-what?"

"Connor, we have to go now" said Abby.

"What, why?" asked Connor, his voice still heavy with sleep.

"We have to find Danny now, remember?" said Abby. Instantly, Connor perked up.

"Oh yeah, right." He grabbed his coat and handed Abby hers. Then slowly, carefully, they began to climb down the steep trunk of the tree.

"Right" said Connor when they were on the ground. "Which way now?"

Abby took a look at her surroundings, trying to remember which way she and Connor had come the previous night to get to the tree, where Danny had been the last time she had seen him. Eventually, she pointed towards the small path that she and Connor had trodded through the bushes.

"That way" she said. Connor picked up a large stick which he had been using as a makeshift crutch and together, he and Abby slowly made their way to where they had last seen Danny. Soon they reached the spot, identified by the tall tree with a dead raptor lying by it.

"I think the anomaly should be that way now" said Abby, gesturing with her arm to her right, in the direction of Danny and Helen's footprints. She and Connor made their way in that direction, confident that they would reach the anomaly in a matter of minutes. However, after spending at least half an hour trekking through the woods the footprints vanished into thin air. It was obvious now what had happened, Danny had gone after Helen, perhaps he had even suceeded in stopping her, but the anomaly had closed, now they were all trapped in time. Abby sat down on a log dejectedly and was silent for a long time.

"I don't believe it" she said at last. "It was just here, I remember seeing it, seeing Helen run through it."

Connor sighed. He could think of no words of comfort for Abby, instead he sat down next to her and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. Suddenly he noticed a glint amongst the leaf litter. Slowly because of his ankle, he picked it up and blew the dust off it. An instant smile appeared on his face and he whooped for joy.

"Yes!" he cried.

"What is it?" asked Abby. She had been staring into space, not really paying much attention to her surroundings, but soon she saw the reason for Connor's happiness.

"It's...it's that thing Helen used to open anomalies."

"Yeah I know" said Connor excitedly. He examined the electric shaver like device, its screen was still lit, and there was little interactive keyboard on it. Connor ran his hands over the device.

"Can you get us back home then?" said Abby.

"I don't quite know" said Connor. "I mean, I could just expermiment with some of the buttons and numbers and see where the anomaly leads to."

"So why don't you?"

"Yeah I will" said Connor, then he looked up. "Hang on, what about Danny?"

Suddenly Abby perked up more. She had been so concerned about her and Connor not getting home that she had completely forgotten about Danny. Maybe she and Connor should go to the Pliocene first to try and get him.

"You're right Connor" she said. "Set it to the Pliocene." Without hesitation, Connor started to press the buttons that would open an anomaly to the Pliocene, and Danny. 3-3-

He pressed the large button underneath the screen and instantly a new anomaly hovered in the air in front of them.

"Come on, Conn" said Abby, helping Connor to his feet. Then together, they headed through the anomaly into...

* * *

...an alleyway in the middle of London. Abby gasped as she took in her surroundings.

"Connor" she said shockingly. "We're...we're back home! But shouldn't we be in the Pliocene?"

Connor looked down at the anomaly opener and groaned. In his haste to open the anomaly and get Danny, he had pressed the wrong number for the final digit. Instead of 333, the anomaly opener read 332.

"Oh god, I'm such an idiot" groaned Connor. Abby looked at the numbers seen on the anomaly opener's screen.

"Well, we have to go back and try again." But even as she said that, the anomaly began to expand. She made for it but it closed before she could get through. Connor looked dejectedly at the anomaly opener.

"What are we gonna do?" he asked. Abby sighed, she was at a dilema right now. They could either press the correct numbers on the anomaly opener and try to get Danny back, but on the other hand, that was almost suicidal now that they were back home again.

"Well, I guess, maybe we should try to get back to the ARC and find a way to get Danny from there." Connor nodded, it seemed a good idea to him. At least at the ARC they'd be in their own environment and be able to think clearly about a safe, surefire way to get Danny back.

Slowly, Abby and Connor began to make their way towards the ARC.


	4. Friends Reunited

Since it would have looked odd to be walking along with a person using a stick instead of a proper crutch, Abby soon decided to hail a taxi. Standing by the side of the road, she constantly looked up and down in search of one. Instead, she saw something else. Cutter's old ute. She reached out her arm to signal it but there was no need, it pulled up by the pavement, Sarah and Becker got out and stared at Abby and Connor with looks of shock and amazement. Eventually, Sarah spoke.

"It...it's you. You're...back."

"Yes" said Abby. Sarah screamed for joy and dashed to embrace her friend.

"Sarah, not here" said Abby in a slightly strangled voice as Sarah was hugging her so tight. Meanwhile, Becker went up to Connor.

"Did you stop Helen then, where's Quinn?"

"I don't know" said Connor. "We got attacked by some raptors, I was injured. Danny went on after Helen and me and Abby stayed in the Cretaceous period. That was the last time we saw him."

"What?" said Sarah, a shocked look on her face at the news she had just heard. Becker looked down at Connor's feet.

"You're hurt" he said, pointing at the stick Connor had been using as a crutch.

"Yeah, glad you noticed" said Connor. Becker went over to the ute and opened the back door. He turned back to Abby and Connor.

"You'd better get in" he said. "There's someone waiting back at the ARC, someone I think you'll both be glad to see."

With slightly puzzled looks on their faces, Abby and Connor both climbed into the passenger seat of the ute.

* * *

It was around about 6:45 by the time they arrived back at the ARC. Becker helped Connor get out of the ute, supporting him on his shoulder.

"You need to get that ankle looked at, Temple" he said. "But first, I need to take you to see that person I told you about. I'm sure she will be very pleased to see you."

She? Connor and Abby looked at each other. There was only one person they thought Becker could be talking about. She had left the ARC several months ago and they had both been sure that they would never see her again. Was it possible that by some miracle, Lester had managed to call her back? As they entered the main hall of the ARC, they saw Lester standing in the centre, talking to the very person Abby and Connor both had in mind: Jenny. She and Lester both turned to them and her jaw dropped like some cartoon character.

"Oh my God" she gasped. "Abby, Connor...is that you?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Jenny" said Abby.

"But...but Lester here told me you had disappeared!"

"Well, not anymore we haven't" said Connor.

Slowly, almost as if she felt that it was too good to be true, Jenny went up to them. When she was very close to them she stood stock still, then she embraced them both.

"I'm so glad to see you both" she said, choking back sobs.

"We thought we'd never see you again, Jenny" said Abby. "I thought you said you weren't ever coming back, you said you wanted to forget about everything."

"I did" said Jenny as she pulled out of the embrace. "But Danny was right, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't forget about any of what I'd seen. And I have missed this old place." She looked around the ARC before turning back to Abby and Connor. "By the way, speaking of Danny, where is he?"

"He's lost, I'm afraid" said Becker, speaking up for the first time since he had entered the ARC. "He got seperated from these two and they haven't seen him since." Jenny gasped and put her hand to her mouth.

'You mean he's dead?"

"We don't know, Jenny" said Abby. "We don't even know if he stopped Helen or not."

"Well, the fact we're all still standing here rather suggests he did" said Jenny. "Lester told me about that mission by the way."

"Well then" said Lester. "At least that seems to have been fixed, for now at least. The question now is who is to lead the team with Quinn gone?"

The others fell silent. Nobody had thought about that yet. Recently they'd all become so used to Danny being team leader that now he was gone, it was almost like having to replace Cutter again. Finally though, Jenny cleared her throat, Lester looked at her.

"Jenny, I take it that means you're volunteering."

"Not as such sir" said Jenny. "In fact I was going to suggest that maybe our new team leader should be...Connor!"

Everyone-including Connor-gasped and stared at Jenny.

"M-me?" stammered Connor in disbelief.

"Yes" said Jenny. "It seems only right, after all, Cutter chose you to be team leader at his death, not me." Before Connor could respond to her she spoke up again. "Oh come on Connor, I knew it all along. After Cutter died you spent all day looking at the artifact. You wouldn't have done something like that unless Cutter himself had told you to do so. And in any event, it makes sense that he should have made you team leader, seeing how close you were to him after Stephen died."

Connor didn't say anything, this was too much for him to take in. Up till now, everyone had always looked at him as the geek, the one who was good with technology and knew lots about dinosaurs. Now he was being given the enormous responsibility of being team leader, he wasn't sure if he could live up to that title. Lester agreed with him.

"Have you gone completely mad in your abscense from the ARC?" he cried. "Connor here couldn't possibly lead the team. If he did they'd all be dead within 10 minutes!"

"That's not true, Lester!" snapped Abby, surprising everyone with her ferocity towards Lester. "Connor may not be Cutter or Danny, but he's stopped people from being killed by creatures many times before, I should know! And if it was Cutter's wish for Connor to lead the team than I say, why not give him a chance?" She turned back to Connor. "That is, if you feel you can do it Connor."

Connor looked around at the expectant faces all staring at him. He didn't know what to say except for...

"Well...this is a bit much to take in at the minute, it's all so sudden. I think....maybe I need to have a think about this first."

"Very well then, you do that" said Lester with not a little bit of satisfaction in his voice. "In the meantime, Jenny will resume leadership of the team. Case closed!"

And without another word he headed up the walkway to his office. Meanwhile, Becker took Connor to see the ARC medics, while Sarah and Abby turned to Jenny. They all had a lot to take in right now.


	5. The Entity

Danny had been walking along the path through the mist for at least an hour now, and he was feeling resonably edgy. At first he had been worried if the leopard was following him, but after looking back over his shoulder several times, it had become clear that it had given up its chase. Now something else was getting Danny nervous. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but it seemed like the mist around him was...talking. He heard soft voices similar to the one that was luring him along the path through the anomalies. They were all saying different things.

"Who's that man, mummy?"

"Oh my God, its a real person"

"How did he get here, what's he doing here?"

Besides these voices, Danny also heard creatures, roars, grunts and bellows. And yet he could see nothing, nothing was coming out of the mist to attack him, nothing was coming through any of the thousands of anomalies that were scattered all around this realm.

At last, the path that had guided him through the mist ended, once more Danny was left standing alone. He called out for the voice.

"Well, here I am then." he cried. "Now show yourself and tell me what you want with me!"

"Very well" said the voice, so soft it was barely audible. "Here I come."

Slowly, the mist directly in front of Danny was cleared to reveal a darker patch of mist. But there was something different about it, besides its colour. It had more of a shape than the rest of the mist as well as two wide, white eyes. And when Danny looked at it, he felt like he was staring at an actual person. It floated slowly towards him.

"Who are you?" asked Danny. "What are you?"

"I have many, many names" said the thing. "Some of them are far to complicated for humans to pronounce. But the name I am generally known by the most is the Entity."

"The Entity?" repeated Danny quizzically. "You mean you're some sort of...god"

"That's one way of referring to me" said the Entity. "I am sort of like a god of the anomalies."

Danny nodded. "Right, and...why is all this mist here talking and making other sorts of noises?"

"It is far more than just mist, Daniel" said the Entity in a slightly reprimanding tone. "All of the so called mist you see around you is actually people. People and creatures that have been removed from time and are now trapped here in the form of mist. They are temporal spectres"

"Why were they removed from time?" asked Danny.

"Because something went drastically wrong" said a new voice, a female voice, to Danny's right. He recognised the voice and turned to see part of the mist seperate itself and glide slowly over to him. For a moment it hovered in mid air, before assuming the shape of a beautiful young woman with long, reddish hair.

"J-Jenny?" stammered Danny in disbelief. The young woman shook her head.

"No, not Jenny Lewis" she said softly. "Claudia Brown. I was erased from time by a catastrophic event and I must now live here as a temporal spectre. As it is I can only assume this form for a few short moments." Almost as if on cue, she melted back into an unextraordinary cloud of mist.

"But why were you erased from time?" asked Danny.

"That is why I have summoned you here, Danny Quinn" said the Entity. "I must speak with the entire anomaly team about that said catastrophic event. I have knowledge that shall help them to save the world from the future predators, but alas I am so weak I cannot go to the ARC myself. I require transportation."

"And that's why you need me is it?" said Danny.

"Yes, but there is more than that." said the Entity. "You shall learn more about it when I speak to the whole team." He stretched out what appeared to be his arm and pointed it downwards. A thin jet of water shot from it and splashed on to the ground, as it spread out, it rose and became a large, glass jar. Slowly, the Entity floated inside it, once he was in, a lid appeared on top of the jar and screwed itself on tightly.

"Now pick up the jar, Danny" ordered the Entity. Danny did as he was told and held the jar containing the Entity in front of him.

"So, if you're some sort of god of the anomalies, does that mean you can open one to get me home."

"Precisely" said the Entity. "But it may take just a little bit of time, just wait and watch."

Danny stood where he was, staring into the mist that was all of the temporal spectres, waiting for a new anomaly to appear in front of him. Then, with a weak sounding woosh, it did.

"Now go through, Danny Quinn" said the Entity in his ever soft voice. "Get me to the ARC and the anomaly team, else the world is doomed."

Wasting no time, Danny dashed through the anomaly.


	6. A Huge Responsibility, a New Anomaly

Connor opened his eyes, half expecting himself to be in a tree in the Cretaceous period. Instead, he saw the roof of his bedroom. His bedroom again, now that Jack had finally moved out and Abby had let him move back in. It felt good to be back here again, back in his and Abby's flat. Back in the new team leader's flat.

That's when Connor remembered what Jenny had suggested yesterday. He might very well be team leader before too long. He got up out of bed and made his way downstairs. Fortunately, his ankle was now fine. According to the ARC medics, all Connor had done was sprain it and they had correctly predicted that it would be completely better by today.

As Connor entered the kitchen, he found Abby sitting at the table, her hands wrapped around a cup of tea.

"Good morning, team leader" she said playfully. Connor smiled half heartedly and sat down opposite to Abby. She reached across the table and touched his hand.

"Hey, what's up Conn?" she asked him.

"I...it's just...it's all a little bit much for me right now, Abby" said Connor. "I mean, you know what it's been like up till now. I've never been that high up on the team and now suddenly with Danny gone and perhaps never coming back....I'm just not sure if I can handle it. It's too big a responsibility." Abby squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"I know it must seem a bit strange to you, being suggested as team leader so soon after we get back. But just remember, I've seen you do things nobody would have ever thought possible for you to do. You came into the future all by yourself to save me from a whole beach of mer creatures. You took down that raptor with a only a stick just the other day. And frankly, if you can do those things, you can do this." She leaned forward close to his face. "And I'll be there to help you through it."

Connor smiled. 'You mean it?"

'Yes" said Abby. "We'll get through this together, just you and me." She closed her eyes and pursed her lips. Connor did the same and leaned forward. Time to relive their incredible first kiss.

But predictably, just as their lips were only millimetres away from each other, Connor's phone rang. With a sigh he picked it up, it was Jenny.

"New anomaly by any chance?" he asked, knowing the answer to that question already.

"I'm afraid so" said Jenny. She heard Connor sigh on the other end of the line. "Hey, don't forget you're not team leader yet, Connor. I'll hold that position for you until you're ready. See you at the ARC, you and Abby."

"See you there, Jenny" said Connor.

* * *

Half an hour later, the entire anomaly team (such as it was) made its way to the anomaly site. Coincidentally, it was not that far from where the one that Abby and Connor had come through, which had recently closed. Becker pulled up the ute by a bus shelter, empty except for two big double deckers and at the far back, the anomaly. Connor and Sarah got out of the ute and started to unload the anomaly locking mechanism. Soon it was all set up and aimed purposefully at the anomaly.

"Ok Connor, lock it" said Jenny. Immediately after she said that however, they heard muffled noises on the other side of the anomaly.

"Something's coming through!" cried Becker, raising his gun.

"No, not something, someone" said Sarah. Jenny looked at her.

"What do you mean someone?"

"Those noises" said Sarah. "They sound more like voices."

At these words, the entire anomaly team turned towards the anomaly team. They had already had one miracle with Jenny returning, was it possible that...

...yes, it was him, dashing through the anomaly with his rucksack on his back and carry a large jar, Danny.

"Danny Quinn" gasped Jenny. Danny looked at her in shock for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face.

"Hello Jen" he said, as if it was five minutes since he's last seen her rather than several months. There was several moments of welcome backs and hugs from the rest of the team.

'Where've you been?" asked Connor. "Did you stop Helen?"

"Yeah, she's dead." said Danny. "One of the raptors followed me through the anomaly and killed her."

"It's good to see you again, Quinn" said Becker. "But tell me, why have you got a jar full of...fog?" Danny held up the jar containing the Entity.

"This is not just fog" he said in a serious tone. "We have to get him back to the ARC"

"Him?" said Jenny quizzically.

"Yeah, long story" said Danny. "I'll tell you all on the way back to the ARC. And meanwhile you can tell me what's been going on back here."


	7. The Entity's speech Part 1

"So, let me get this straight." said Becker as the team entered the ARC. "You went into this place that was full of anomalies..."

"The spaghetti junction" Danny and Connor corrected him in unison.

"Alright then, the spaghetti junction. And it was full of this mist that was actually people who had been erased from time and been turned into these ghosts, these...temporal spectres. And then you met the god of the anomalies who went inside that jar and asked you to bring him to us."

"Yes, that pretty much sums it up." said Danny.

"That's a pretty incredible story, Quinn." said Becker in a tone of voice that made it clear he didn't believe a word of it.

"Not as incredible as you making Connor team leader" said Danny jokingly. He turned back to Connor. "Not that that's a bad thing Connor."

"No offense taken" replied Connor. He lowered his voice. "Between you, me and Abby, I don't really think I can be team leader."

"Well, I wouldn't be too sure about that." said Danny. "After all, you are full of surprises. Perhaps this is one of them."

As the entered the main hall of the ARC, Danny held the jar in front of him.

"OK, we're here now. This is the ARC. Now what?"

"He's talking to the jar now" said Becker sarcastically. "Perhaps Connor should be team leader instead."

"Hold you're tongue if you have nothing good to say, Captain Becker!" hissed a soft voice. Becker jumped and looked towards the jar from where the voice had come from. He pointed at it dumbfoundedly.

"Did it...did the thing in the jar just...speak" Danny turned back to Becker, a triumphant look on his face.

"Told you my story was true" he said. He turned back to the Entity.

"Place my jar on the nearest table please" the Entity whispered in his soft, wispy voice. Danny did as he was told and then backed away. The lid of the jar immediately unscrewed itself and the Entity erupted out of the jar like a living cloud of volcanic ash. He hovered in mid air in front of the astonished faces of the team and the rest of the ARC staff. For a moment he was silent, then he spoke.

"Would all those who are not members of the anomaly team please leave this room? For the knowledge I must part with is for them alone."

Without having to be told twice, all members of the ARC staff excluding the team filed out of the ARC's main hall until only the team remained. The Entity turned back to them.

"As your colleague Quinn here will have told you, I am like the god of the anomalies. I can make them open and close and I rule supreme over them all."

"Well then, if that's so, perhaps you could answer a few questions that have been bugging us ever since the team was formed." said Jenny. "Why are anomalies even appearing at all?"

"Anomalies are essential to life" replied the Entity. "Without them the entire universe would fall apart."

"Why?" asked Danny.

"Since the beginning of the universe there has been one thing that has always been present, it is time" said the Entity. "The essence of time enriches the universe and keeps it stable. Anomalies are needed to allow time into different periods, to keep them healthy."

"How can anomalies be good for keeping something healthy if creatures come through and kill people?" asked Becker.

"When the universe was first created, I was put in charge of the anomalies. I have no control over the free will of the creatures who pass through them. If they do go through an anomaly it is by coincidence only, in most cases they usually return to their own period before the anomaly to it closes."

"How many anomaly openings does the universe require to keep it healthy?" asked Jenny

"Under normal circumstances, not many." replied the Entity. "The universe is a little bit like a giant battery. It is capable of storing enough time to sustain itself before it requires more, usually a period can go for about five to six years before an anomaly needs to be opened up in it. And even then the maximum number of anomalies does not usually exceed three"

"So why are anomalies appearing as they are now?" asked Danny. "They certainly aren't opening five or six years apart from each other."

"Ah, now we are coming to the real purpose behind my visit" said the Entity. "When I was first appointed as master of the anomalies, I quite literally bound myself completely to them. In my foolishness I did not think that anyone would ever meddle with them. Only not so long ago, someone did."

"Helen Cutter" said Connor.

"Precisely" said the Entity. "She came through an anomaly to the Permian era and she did not like what she saw. She wished to recreate time to her own wishes, under some deluded notion that it would create a better world. In reality, all it did was weaken me, weaken me to the point where I could no longer control my own anomalies. They were free to open in all the possible places, and thus, as you have seen, the chances of creatures coming through increased dramatically."

"But Helen's dead now" said Danny. "So shouldn't you be recovering?"

"Yes Daniel. I should be recovering and even as we speak I am. However it will take a long time to heal from eight years of Helen Cutter's meddling, and in the meantime the world ticks closer to its doom."

"What do you mean?" asked Jenny.

"I think I should answer that" came a second voice that sounded just like Jenny's. Out of the jar came a white cloud of mist, the temporal spectre hovered next to the Entity and then, much to everyone's (except Danny's) shock, she took the form of a beautiful woman resembling Jenny in practically every way. Somehow, Abby and Connor knew who she was.

"Claudia Brown" they whispered in unison. Claudia turned to them.

"Abby, Connor, yes its me." She turned towards a shocked and frightened looking Jenny and floated towards her.

"So you are Jenny Lewis" she said in a soft voice. "I've heard lots about you, how you look almost exactly like me and yet you are a different person."

"You!" gasped Jenny, looking like she was going to faint at any minute. "He spoke of you...Nick. He was always getting us mixed up."

Claudia sighed in a melancholy way.

"That sounds a bit like him" she said. "And now I shall not see him again, not here, not anywhere in this timeline." She rose up air and spoke to the whole team. "And that is why the Entity wants to see you."

"Why?" asked the team in unison.

"Abby, Connor" said Claudia as she turned back into a cloud of mist. "Do you remember the first time you saw a future predator?"


	8. The Entity's speech Part 2

"A Future predator?" said Connor. "Yeah of course we remember. It came through an anomaly to the Permian in the Forest of Dean. We found a nest of baby. Helen Cutter reckoned their anomaly was in the Permian, so she and Cutter took the babies through to find it and then kill them."

"Yes, but do you remember something else that happened that day?" asked Claudia. "A certain phone call you got, Connor?"

Connor thought long and hard. He couldn't remember that much about that day, it being so long ago now. He certainly didn't remember much about a phone call, except... Suddenly it all came back to him.

"Wait, I remember. I got a call from the people in charge of the dead predator's autopsy, they said it was a male."

"That's right" said Claudia. "And there was a mother future predator still out there, she followed Cutter and Helen through the anomaly to retrieve her young."

"So that's what killed Captain Ryan and his men" said Abby.

"Precisely" said the Entity, reassuming his role as the main speaker. "After she killed the soldiers, the mother predator proceeded to try and protect her young. But she was knocked aside by a hungry gorgonopsid, who then moved on to kill and eat the babies. He'd already killed quite a lot of them before the mother predator attacked him, and it was that action which shall doom the world."

"What do you mean?" asked Abby and Connor.

"The gorgonopsid killed most of the baby future predators, but only most of them" said the Entity. "Two were spared because of their mother's actions, a male and a female. With their intelligence and born killing instinct, they flourished in the Permian. They spawned countless young together and wiped out almost all life on earth, including some of mankind's earliest ancestors."

"But if that's true, then how come they aren't swarming all over the place right now?" asked Connor. "And how did they come to be in the future again?"

"You don't need me to answer your first question, Connor Temple" said the Entity. "I think we both know what happened around 250 million years ago, why the Permian era came to an end."

"The Permian extinction" said Connor in realisation.

"Yes, a great drought fell upon the earth. Soon this planet was little more than a lifeless wasteland, even the future predators could not survive it. And they were wiped out." He paused for a moment before carrying on. "But the point is that during their rule in the Permian era, the predators caused great changes to occur in the timeline, caused things to happen that were not meant to. Much of this timeline after the Permian has remained the same as the true one, some things have happened that were meant to. Some people who were meant to be have been born, and some that were meant to die have done so already."

Connor looked down at his feet for a moment, then looked up at the Entity. "Stephen...?"

"Precisely" said the Entity in a sympathetic voice. "Alas it was Stephen Hart's fate to die by creature attack, other deaths around the world in this timeline have also happened the way they were meant to in the true one. But many have also died that were not meant to do so. Some things have happened that were never meant to be, some people are here that to not belong in the real timeline. There are even some people who only partially belong here, the rest of them is trapped in the mists of time as a temporal spectre."

"I don't see how this will bring the world to its doom" said Danny. The Entity turned to him.

"Do you remember what Helen Cutter said to you as she left the ARC with Christine Johnson? She said that it was Christine's ambition and the ARC that would create the future predators. Now Helen Cutter has been wrong about many, many things in the time she's travelled the anomalies, but that was not one of them."

"But if she was right about that then why is the world still doomed to be overrun with future predators?" asked Becker.

"Helen said that Christine's ambition would bring about the creation of the future predators" said the Entity. "So she killed her. However it was not Christine herself who would create the predators, rather her ambition would inspire one of her most loyal scientists to do so."

"Who?" asked Danny. "Tell us who it is and we can stop them!"

"It's too late." said the Entity. "The person in question destroyed all his identity when he got wind of the fact the Johnson was dead. He wanted to make sure that no one would ever make the connection between him and Johnson's work. Even as we speak he is taking the next flight to Switzerland. By the time you find out who he is and where he is staying, he will have already found future predator DNA in glacial ice. It will not take him long to work out what it is and when he does, he shall come to the ARC under a completely new identity. And in secret he shall assemble his own team and together, they shall clone the DNA and the future predators will once more roam the earth, and this time there will be no great drought to end their reign."

"Well you obviously have some idea as to who this person is" said Danny. "So why don't you tell us so we can stop him!"

"Because it would be fruitless if I did" said the Entity. "That man is not the only scientist loyal to Johnson, she had many more besides. All of them have fled the country to live abroad, and sooner or later, they will discover future predator DNA in some shape or form, and they will come back to Britain and clone it."

"Well then, if we can't stop them from cloning the predators then what should we do?" cried Danny.

"There is only one surefire way to prevent the apocalypse" said the Entity. "You must travel back in time to when the future predators began their first rule over earth, back to the point where the gorgonopsid attacked the young. But this time, he must kill all of them, each and every one, none of them must be spared. You must make sure that happens. If you suceed, the timeline will be restored to its true self, the people who shall clone the predators in this timeline will vanish from the true one, or at least they shall never get round to cloning them."

"But how can we go back to that exact moment?" asked Connor. "We don't know how."

"You have the technology" replied the Entity. "Helen Cutter's anomaly opener"

"Yeah but, we barely know how to use it!" said Connor. "And we don't even have any idea what the co-ordinates are for the Permian, much less this particular time you want us to go back to!"

"You shall learn the co-ordinates in time, Connor Temple. After all why wouldn't you, you are to be the leader of this team." At this point Connor could take it no more, the pressure was too great.

"NO!" he shouted. "No! I can't lead this team, I mean look at me! I can't fight, I don't know anything about leadership. Why is everyone suddenly expecting me to be the new team leader, I'll never be Danny, or Cutter." And he broke down in sobs of frustration, Abby squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. The Entity floated closer to Connor.

"That is not true, Connor Temple. You are in fact more like Cutter than you can ever truly know. You have the intelligence, the intellect, and when put to the test, you're not such a bad fighter."

"But how can I lead the team?" asked Connor in desperation, looking at the Entity as if his appearance alone would provide an answer.

"You can and you shall be able to do it, Connor" said the Entity in a kindly tone. "You shall learn the co-ordinates for that anomaly in good time, all you have to do is believe in yourself!"

Connor wiped away the last of his tears and nodded. Danny went up to him and patted him on the shoulder.

"The Entity's right, Connor. You can do this. Let's just go and make you a nice cup of coffee, and then we can try and work out the co-ordinates". Connor nodded again and together, he, Abby and Danny headed off in the direction of the ARC's cafeteria.

"I warn you of this, anomaly team!" said the Entity. Danny, Connor and Abby turned to look at him, along with the rest of the team.

"Warn us of what?" asked Danny.

"The success of this mission shall not come without a price." said the Entity. "Remember how I said that there are some people in this reality who don't belong in the real one, and ones that are only half people? You have one of each among you."

"But...but then that means that when we put the timeline back to its true self, those people will disappear." cried Danny in horror.

"Actually only the one who does not belong shall disappear" said the Entity. "But you get the basic idea." Danny opened his mouth to speak again but the Entity got there first. "Either this sacrifice is made, or the world is doomed. It is as simple as that." He floated back into his jar again. "Claudia, transport me!"

Even as he spoke, an anomaly appeared in the air right above the team's heads. The temporal spectre changed back into Claudia Brown and took the Entity's jar in her hands. Then wasting no time, she floated up towards the anomaly. As she reached it she looked back at the team.

"Good luck, all of you!" she whispered as she went through the anomaly, which immediately closed behind her.


	9. The First Clue

Danny went through the filing cabinet in Lester's office. Ordinarily, this was not something he would ever do, but Lester was at a meeting with the minister and today, Danny really felt a need to do it.

Ever since the Entity had left the ARC after giving his news that one of the team did not belong in the true timeline, the mood at the ARC was one of worry. Connor worried constantly over his newly bestowed duties as team leader, Abby worried because he worried, and the rest of the team tended to look around at each other with worried looks. Aside from Connor, they were all worrying about one thing: which of them did not belong? Jenny for her part did not seem to be worrying at all. Instead, she just stood around the ARC all day, or wandered around with a frightened look on her face which looked like she was going to cry. All day, every day, this look never left her face. The whole team knew what this meant, she was certain that she was the one who did not belong.

However, Jenny was the only one certain she was doomed to vanish into thin air with the mending of the timeline, nobody else was and Danny could have no way of knowing that the very files he was looking for had already been looked at and read by both Sarah and Becker multiple times.

Finally, he found the files he was looking for, they were ones of previous anomaly missions. Danny didn't know what exactly had compelled him to look for these files in particular, he just was. As Danny looked through them he recognised some of these anomaly missions, the anomaly at the airport where the had come through, the one in the scrapyard that the Dracorex had been chased by the knight through, and of course the infamous racetrack anomaly that lead to the future. However, there were plenty of others too, ones lead by that man the team had first been lead by, the Scottish man they all held in such high appeal (which Danny had always been slightly jealous of), Nick Cutter. There was one at a building sight that had lead to the place with giant scorpions, another before that that had been in a shopping centre where raptors had come through, and there was also another early one that had been at a football stadium, which had lead to the Spaghetti Junction.

However, as Danny looked at the mission before that one, he noticed something which unnerved him. An anomaly had opened up in several places, in a swimming pool, in a reservoir and then finally in a household basement. For the final anomlay in that list, Lester had requested police help and had been granted it. With a growing sense of unease, Danny realised that the particular department of police was an area he had known quite well in his years on the force. He had known lots about their various missions, even ones they weren't supposed to discuss he at least knew where they took place. And yet he remembered absolutely nothing about them going to the place this anomaly had opened up at. Horrible thoughts began to evolve in Danny's head, thoughts which were thankfully cut off by the blaring sound of the anomaly siren.

* * *

This particular anomaly was in a gardening centre. Fortunately today was a bank holiday so nobody was at work, so it was relatively easy for the team to arrive and go in unnoticed, but not so easy to step their way through the countless flower pots that littered the floor. Jenny in particular was having trouble navigating her way through the pots in her ever present high heels.

Soon, they found the anomaly by the tropical ferns display. Connor and Sarah set to work on setting up the anomaly locking mechanism. As she unloaded it, Sarah couldn't help but notice the troubled look on Connor's face.

"Its the co-ordinates isn't it?" she said softly. "For the right anomaly that is." Connor nodded.

"Look, don't worry about it so much" said Sarah, trying to keep the worry of being erased from time out of her voice. "You heard what the Entity said, you'll work it out. Do you have any idea about how the co-ordinates might be arranged?"

"Yes, I do actually" said Connor. "It's just a theory, but I think it goes something along the lines of anomaly, day, time. But I don't know for certain."

Sarah was just about to say something in response to that when suddenly, out from the anomaly came a low bellow. Jenny's morose look vanished for the moment and she turned to Connor and Sarah.

"Come one you two, get that locking device ready, something's coming through the anomaly!"

As soon as she said that a dark green, tortoise like face appeared out of the anomaly. Becker and his men aimed their rifles at it, Abby grabbed Becker's arm.

"Stop" she whispered so as not to frighten the creature that was emerging from the anomaly. "I know what that is, I've seen it twice before. It's a scutosaurus, it's a herbivore." Indeed the scutosaurus, now completely through the anomaly, was helping itself to a lush, juicy fern. On its konbbly, dark green back, something moved. Abby gasped in delight as the little creature unfolded its wings to reveal the coelurosauravus, just like her Rex. The little flying lizard yawned as it arose from its slumber on top of the scutosaurus' back. Abby was aware of Connor standing beside her, with the first smile on his face that had appeared in many days.

"Well, isn't that cute?" he said, waving at the lizard as it scurried up and down its host's back. "The first creatures we ever encountered, from-

Connor stopped right there. The smile on his face was replaced with one of shock and then he whooped for joy once more. A whoop that made Abby so happy.

"What is it, Connor?" asked Sarah.

"I think I've worked out one of the co-ordinates for the anomaly the Entity wants us to go through" said Connor excitedly. He pointed at the two creatures. "These were actually the first creatures we encountered, and they were also from the first anomaly we ever encountered, and the first one Helen Cutter went through!"

"But don't you think that maybe it's just coincidence?" said Danny who had overheard everything.

"Perhaps, but if my theory about the co-ordinates is correct, then I think its worth a try" said Connor.

"Yes well, now that you've thought of that, why don't we now think about getting these things back through the anomaly?" said Becker.

"I think I've got an idea about that" said Connor, dashing off to the kids section of the garden centre. He returned carrying a small tortoise.

'A tortoise?" said Jenny in disbelief. "What's that for?" Connor turned to her.

"All reptiles secrete pheromones out of their underbellies. I was just thinking, if that scutosaurus is a male then maybe we can use those pheromones to attract him back through the anomaly. After all, he is distantly related to tortoises."

"That is the most stupid idea I have ever heard in my entire life!" exclaimed Becker.

"Worth a try" said Connor. "Anyway, it's the kind of thing Cutter would have done." He looked down at the ground solemnly for a few, short moments. Then he went over to the anomaly and set the tortoise down in front of it. After a few minutes he retrieved it and stood back.

The scutosaurus, having completely demolised the fern display was now moving on to some rose bushes when all of a sudden, it lifted its head and sniffed the air. It turned towards the anomaly and walked slowly towards it, the coelurosauravus perched on its back. As it reached the place where the tortoise had been, it stopped and sniffed in the smell slowly, taking it in. For several long moments it stood there, then having had enough of it standing around, Becker went up to it and gave it a sharp prod in the thigh with the barrel of his rifle. The scutosaurs bellowed and dashed through the anomaly, taking the coelurosauravus with it. Immediately afterwards, the anomaly closed.

"That was mean." said Connor. Becker shrugged.

"What? It was making the place look untidy. Anyway, you've got more important things to be worrying about. You need to get back to the ARC and take down that theorised first co-ordinate of yours."

"Right, yes" said Connor as he and Abby made their way back to the ute, followed by the rest of the team. Danny seemed to lag behind at first, just standing in the spot where the anomaly was and staring into thin air.

"Aren't you coming, Quinn?" asked Becker. Danny turned to him.

"Yeah, I'm coming." But as he spoke, Becker couldn't help but notice the anxiety in his voice.


	10. Second clue, Third coordinate

The ute sped along to the anomaly site, which was at a swimming pool (co-incidentally, the same one that the mosasaur had come through all those years ago).

Now that Connor had discovered what he believed to be the first co-ordinate for the anomaly the Entity wanted them to go through, the gloomy mood at the ARC had lifted at least a little bit. Connor had explained his theory to Lester and had requested to see the files of previous anomaly missions, specifically the one where the team had first encountered a future predator, in the hopes that that would reveal the other two co ordinates. However, Lester had been slightly hesitant to give them to him.

"I only wish I could just hand you over the files, Connor" he had said. "But these are confidential files, I'll need the minister's approval before I can give them to you."

So for the time being, Connor contented himself with the first co-ordinate. And now that he had more hope in discovering the other two, he was smiling a lot more, and as a result, so was Abby. Unfortunately, the rest of the team was not so joyful, indeed, they only seemed to get more gloomy, particurlarly Jenny and Danny. Both of them spent a lot of their time looking around suspiscously at just about everything and with unnerved looks on their faces. Sarah and Becker made more of an effort to keep their worries at bay, but even so, they still permeated through at times.

Finally, the ute pulled up at the swimming pool. Jenny had convinced the owners that an inspection needed to be carried out and as the result, the pool had been closed for the day, not an easy task for the owners to do seeing as it was a Saturday when loads of kids would otherwise be coming down to the pool for a dip.

The team filed out into the pool area. There in the larger of the two pools was a strange looking creature resembling a cross between a salamander and a fish. None of the team was the least bit surprised when Connor identified it immediately.

"A crassigyrinus" he said, pointing at the creature. "Carboniferous period, amphibian, carnivore. Probably would have eaten bugs and fish."

"Well, I'm glad that's been sorted out" said Jenny. "The question now is how do we get it back through the anomaly, where is the anomaly anyway?"

"There it is" said Abby, pointing across the pool to a now open grating, where a small anomaly was shimmering. Becker turned to Connor.

"Ok then, team leader. What should we do to get this thing back now?"

Connor looked around at the rest of the team, but they were all staring at him, expecting him to come up with an answer to Becker's question. He sighed.

"I'll do it" he said. "Just give me a second." He disappeared in the direction of the men's changing room and returned moments later dressed only in his boxers. Then he went over the side of the pool. The crassygyrinus was only about the size of a small dog and it had diminuitive limbs, but its large jaws could still deliver a nasty bite, Connor would have to be careful with it. He took a deep breath and then, in the style of Crocodile Dundee, dived into the pool right of top of the shocked amphibian. For a moment they both disappeared beneath the surface of the water, although the team could see Connor wrestling with the creature as it thrashed its powerful tail and wriggled about in an attempt to free itself from Connor's arms.

Finally they both surfaced again. Connor was greeted by wild applause from Abby and Sarah has he tried to avoid the snapping jaws of the crassigyrinus, which had now decided to resort to more violent methods of freeing itself. With some difficulty, Connor swam over to the open grate where the anomaly was. As he reached it, he held the crassigyrinus in front of him, to get one last look at this strange creature which even now was fairly unknown to science. Suddenly, he had a thought and hurriedly thrust the crassigyrinus through the anomaly, which closed immediately afterwards. Quickly, Connor swam back to the edge of the pool, an excited look on his face.

"OK Connor, what's up now?" asked Jenny as she handed him a towel. "You had that same look on your face when you discovered the first co ordinate."

"Well, I was just thinking when I held that thing about the time zone it came from, the Carboniferous" said Connor has he dried himself. "And then for some reasn I started thinking about that period's place in the time line, the Carboniferous is the sixth period in Earth's history."

"And?" said Becker.

"And the anomaly that the future predator first came through was our sixth one, and also (this part may just be co incidence), today's a Saturday, the sixth day of the week."

"But you told me that the co ordinates went anomaly, day, time" said Sarah. "So far the only day you've mentioned is Saturday, that just seems to be rather random to me."

"I think the anomaly the future predator first came through opened up on the sixth of some month" said Connor as he ran the towel over his dripping hair. "But I'm not sure, I'll have to take a look at the files of previous anomaly missions first."

At that point, Jenny's mobile rang.

"Hello. James....no it went fine, a creature came through but it was only a small one and Connor got it back alright. Pardon? Oh." She handed the phone to Connor. "It's Lester, he wants to talk to you. Connor held the phone to his ear.

"Lester"

"Connor, you may be pleased to hear that I've had a little chat to the minister about your theory. He was reluctant to believe it at first, but when I told him it may solve the whole damn anomaly problem for good he gave me permission for you to hear the information in the files."

"Really?" said Connor.

"Yes" said Lester. "Now I've had a look at them myself so to save you polluting my office with your presence I've decided to read the information out for you now." He cleared his throat before continuing. "The anomaly in question opened up on the sixth of March in the Forest of Dean at around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Hope that was of use to you."

On the other end of the line, Connor grinned from ear to ear. "Oh yes, Lester. Thanks for giving me that info."

"Don't mention it" said Lester. "Ever!" And he hung up.

"Well, what did he say?" asked Jenny.

" I think we've got our co ordinates" said Connor. And he headed off to the changing rooms to retrieve his clothes. Had he stayed, he would have noticed the ashen look that had appeared on Jenny, Sarah, Danny and Becker's face, and that as he had said the words co ordinates, Danny and Jenny had shivered with what could only have beent the cold certainty of their fates.


	11. Worries before an Anomaly

Jenny's eyes snapped open. She found herself lying on her back looking up at a grey, cloudy sky, which small birds occasionally fluttered across. Slowly she rose to her feet and found herself in easily the most horiffic place she could ever have imagined. All around her were derelict, destroyed buildings and cars rusting away into oblivion. Beneath her feet were shards of broken glass and bricks, it was a wonder she wasn't cutting herself. Carefully, she picked her way through the devastation, compelled by some driving force to move on. Finally though, she stopped at a sign post. Looking up, she saw three words printed on the sign.

**Welcome to London**

Jenny gasped and put her hand to her mouth. She looked at her surroundings, trying desperately to find an answer from the ruins. The despair and horror was fast overwhelming her, threatening to engulf her completely. Eventually she couldn't hold herself in any longer, she had to say something ,she had to cry out...

"No!!!!!"

Her cries were answered by an ominous, insectile clicking. Turning around, Jenny saw what resembeled a large praying mantis the size of a puppy standing on top of one of the broken down cars. It clicked its pincers menacingly before taking a running jump at Jenny. Instinctively, she struck out at it with her hand and sent it flying through the air until it slammed into a wall, splattering itself all over it.

As soon as that happened, Jenny heard an even more ominous clicking, louder and more familiar. She had heard that clicking once before, in Leek's bunker, and she had hoped never to hear it again. All around her she saw future predators, and more of the praying mantis things, much larger than the one she had just killed. She wanted to run, she wanted to run and never stop running but her feet seemed glued to the ground. The creatures slowly moved towards her, forming a circle around her, trapping her. For a moment they were still. Then they attacked and...

* * *

Jenny sat bolt upright in bed. She was back home again, in her own bedroom. But that was small consolation for the horror she had just experienced in her dream. She couldn't help but search the shadows for predators. As she was doing this, she heard a soft voice inside her head. The voice of the Entity.

"That is what shall happen if the mission should fail."

Jenny looked around for the cloud of fog that was the Entity but saw nothing of the sort. Slowly, she got out of bed and went downstairs to make herself a cup of tea, she'd never get back to sleep now, not tonight. As she sat at her kitchen table with her hands wrapped around her teacup, she thought about the dream she had just had, and the voice she had heard. What she had seen in her dream was London, or rather a futuristic version of it swarming with future predators and the giant insects known as Megaopterans (Lester had filled her in on all the creature occurences that had happened in her abscence from the ARC). From the looks of things it was a London not too far into the future. Jenny thought about what was to happen if nothing was done, how Christine Johnson's scientists would return to the ARC and clone the future predators, perhaps they would even create the megaopterans too. And in the turmoil that followed, hundreds of thousands of innocent people would be butchered by these bloodthirsty creatures and their insatitable lust for human flesh.

Then she thought about what the Entity had said to her in her head. He had said to her "That is what shall happen if the mission should fail". Suddenly Jenny realised the meaning behind her dream. Ever since the Entity had revealed his news of one of the team possibly disappearing, all Jenny had been able to think about for the most part was herself. About the possibility that she would disappear into thin air. Well now the time had come to stop thinking about herself, the future of millions was at stake here. It was Jenny's job as an anomaly team member to secure the safety of the public, and if sacrificing herself would do that then it was what she would do.

About three miles away in her flat, Sarah Page had had the same dream and was thinking the same thought.

* * *

The big day had finally arrived. The entire team and Lester had driven the the spot in the Forest of Dean where the first and sixth anomaly had appeared. Everything was ready, Connor was standing by with the anomaly opener, ready to try out the new coordinates he had theorised.

"What if this doesn't work?" asked Abby.

"It has to" said Connor.

Meanwhile, Danny found himself growing ever more nervous. The feeling was piling up inside him, causing him to pace up and down in worry. At last he looked up and saw Jenny standing with Sarah. Danny went up to them.

"Girls" he said as he reached them. "We need to talk."

"What about?" asked Sarah and Jenny in unison as Danny dragged them away behind some nearby bushes.

"You remember how the Entity said that one of us on the team did not belong in the true timeline, and there was also someone who was only a half person?"

"How could we forget?" said Sarah.

"Yes well, the thing is, suppose it's one of you. Why aren't you doing anything to try and stop this mission if you know its going to end your existence?"

"Why would we try to do anything if by doing so we would condemn the world to the future predators?" said Jenny. She and Sarah told Danny about the dream they had both had. "Frankly" said Jenny when they had finished, "If disappearing into thin air is going to save millions of people from that, then so be it."

Danny was about to say something in response when Lester called him over.

"Quinn, get over here, the anomaly's open!"

Danny shot one last glance at Sarah and Jenny before heading off to where Lester was standing with Abby, Connor and Becker.

"You four are to be in charge of the mission" he said as if they were simply going on a shopping trip. "You will do whatever it takes to find the predators and make sure that that thing, whatever it is, kills them all."

"Yes sir" said Becker. He turned to Abby, Connor and Danny and handed Abby and Danny a pistol each.

"Don't I get a gun?" asked Connor. Becker smiled wanly.

"Sorry Temple" he said apologetically. "You may be team leader but given your history with handling firearms, do you really think it would be wise for me to hand you one?" Connor nodded understandingly, remembering the time he had accidentally shot Abby in the leg with a tranquilizer gun.

"Well then" said Lester. "I suppose the only thing left to say now is, good luck!"

"Good luck, all of you" said Sarah and Jenny.

"Thanks" said Connor. "And if we don't come back, please know that we have all really enjoyed working with you. Its been the coolest time of our lives ever."

And then, Connor, Abby, Becker and Danny headed through the anomaly into the Permian.


	12. A Terrible Betrayal

On the other side of the anomaly, Connor, Abby, Becker and Danny found themselves in a very different place to the one they had left behind. Black ash coated the ground in the Permian. Monkey puzzle trees filled with ceolurosauravus dotted the landscape and in the distance, a herd of scutosaurus were migrating at the base of a smoking volcano.

It was beautiful, but they weren't here to admire the view. Connor turned to the three others behind him.

"Ok, I think the first thing we should do is look for tracks, human tracks that is. And also any indentations which hint they were dragging something along, that would be the box of baby future predators that is."

"Are you sure we're anywhere near the right place?" asked Danny, a hint of hopefulness in his voice which went unnoticed by Connor.

"I don't know" said Connor. "I've never been to this time zone before."

"Don't worry" cried Becker, who had wandered off a little to get a look at their surroundings. "I think I've found what we're looking for!"

He pointed up to the crest of the hill, which a small group of people were walking along. With a jolt of happiness, Connor recognised Cutter amongst them. It felt so good to see his old mentor back when he was alive that for a moment, Connor was tempted to call out to him. But he held his tongue, he knew how dangerous it was to mess with time and that you couldn't take even the tiniest risk. He'd seen all the movies. When he was fairly sure they were out of sight of Cutter, Helen, Captain Ryan and the other soldiers, Connor beckoned for Abby, Danny and Becker to follow him. Slowly, they climbed up the hill.

* * *

Soon, the people ahead of the team stopped in a grove of monkey puzzle trees and put the box of baby future predators down on the ground. A fair distance away, Connor, Abby, Becker and Danny watched them silently. Watched as Helen carried her camera to the edge of a cliff and Cutter followed her. So far, no one had noticed the four people watching from about half a mile away lying on their bellies. For a moment, none of them said a word, then Abby pointed to a cloud of dust slowly rising in the distance.

"Look" she whispered, handing her binoculars to Connor. Connor peered through them, making its way purposefully down the hill through the trees was the gorgonopsid.

"There it is" whispered Connor. "The mother future predator can't be that far away."

"There she is!" said Becker, pointing down the hill to the sprinting future predator, an air of menace about her.

"Ok, nows the time to make our move" said Connor. "Let's go." He, Abby and Becker started towards the grove of trees.

Suddenly there was a gunshot and a raging pain erupted in Connor's ankle. He collapsed to the ground, crying out in pain. Abby and Becker turned to see Danny standing there with his pistol smoking.

"Quinn, what the hell are you doing?" hissed Becker.

"I can't let you do this" said Danny.

"But if we don't, then the gorgonopsid won't kill all the baby future predators" said Abby. "They'll take over the world!"

"And if we do do it, then someone here disappears!" said Danny. For a moment everyone was silent. Then Connor pointed at Danny and spoke in a pain choked voice.

"You..you think that..."

"I don't think it, Connor. I'm practically certain of it!" snapped Danny, and Connor could see the fear in his eyes. "Ever since the Entity said that one of the team didn't belong in the real timeline, I've always had a strong feeling it was me. Now like I said, I practically know it is."

"Danny..."said Abby, moving towards him. Danny held the pistol to her forehead.

"Get that away from her!" snarled Connor.

"Only if she doesn't try anything" said Danny.

"Alright, Quinn. Come here!" said Becker, making for Danny. But the other man was too quick and he thrust his arm forward in a punch. It caught Becker right in the temples and sent both him and his gun flying. Becker landed flat on his back in the dirt, unconscious. Danny picked up his sniper rifle and pointed it at Abby.

"I don't want to hurt you, Abby. So hand over your pistol and I won't have to."

"Never!" hissed Abby. Danny pointed the gun at Connor.

"I don't want to hurt Connor either." He tugged at the trigger ever so slightly to let Abby know he wasn't joking. Reluctantly, she handed her pistol over to him.

"Traitor!" Abby snarled. She pointed at the appraching future predator. "I hope she finds you and kills you painfully."

"We'll see" said Danny. And without another word, he headed off down the hill, leaving Abby, Connor and Becker in perhaps the most hopeless situation they had ever been in.


	13. Danny's Tragedy

Danny had been walking at a brisk pace for about five minutes, already he was a considerable distance from where he had left Abby, Connor and Becker. What he would do now he had left them was another matter. For now he was just going to keep walking. He spotted a pile of rocks just a few feet in front of him, he'd be able to rest there until he made his mind up about what to do next.

Just as he was about to reach it though, a new anomaly appeared in the air before him. He felt the cool air of the Spaghetti Junction come through and so he was not the least bit surprised to see a temporal spectre come through, and was even less surprised to see it change into a displeased looking Claudia Brown.

"I know what you did" she said angrily. "So does the Entity and all of the other temporal spectres."

"Why does that not surprise me?" muttered Danny.

"I want to know why you did it" said Claudia.

"I did it because I don't want to simply disappear into thin air just like that!" snapped Danny, snapping his fingers as he did so.

"Is that really it?" said Claudia. "Because I sense there is more than that. I sense that you had a more personal reason than that for what you did."

"There's nothing, alright!" snapped Danny. "Now just leave me alone!" He made for the rock pile.

"Don't try to run away from me, Danny Quinn" snapped Claudia as she floated along behind him. "I have spent the past two years trapped in the Spaghetti Junction, barely able to hold my own form for more than a few moments. Do you think I like it that way? Tell me why you betrayed the mission!"

"I can't!" snapped Danny, turning around sharply, and there were tears welling in his eyes. "I can't." Claudia floated up to him.

"Yes, you can" she said softly. Danny took a few deep breaths and then sat down on the ground.

"I...I never really had a real childhood. I mean I did until my little brother Patrick came along. Up till then my parents had paid all the attention to me, they never did after Patrick was born. He always seemed to be better than me at everything, no matter what I could do, he always seemed to do it better, and he always got the attention. In the end it got to the point where I was just reduced to trailing along behind my parents, just hoping that they'd notice me, even if it was just for one second. I never had friends or birthday parties, nobody liked me at school, they always wanted to be Patrick's friend." He paused for a moment before going on.

"Anyway it went on like that for fourteen years, until the day Patrick went out with some friends to an old abandoned house and never came back. Nobody knew back then he'd been killed by a..."

"A camoflage beast. Yes, I know about that." said Claudia.

"My parents were devastated" Danny went on. "So was I, but in the back of my mind I had a feeling that at least now, my parents might actually pay more attention to me." He scoffed. "Boy, was I wrong. Instead, they just seemed to become more and more obsessed with Patrick. Not a day went by when they didn't talk about him, wish he was still alive. It was like they didn't have another child. It was the same at school, too. And that's when I finally reached the end of my tether."

"What did you do?" asked Claudia.

"I was always pretty good at chemistry at school" said Danny. "So one day at lunchtime, I made a bomb, which I set off in the gymnasium while all my brother's friends were in it. I felt it was justice for all the years I had been ignored and put down by them. Actually, it sort of backfired. Somehow they found out it was me who had made the bomb and set it off. The police wouldn't take me, they thought I needed. 'professional help'." He made quotation marks with his fingers as he said 'professional help'. "So I was tied up in strait jacket, thrown in the back of a barred truck and taken to...to....Doctor Spocknia's asylum for criminally insane children. I was sixteen years old!"

The angry look on Claudia's face was instantly replaced with a look of sympathy. That asylum had been closed down five years ago, but it had been well known for the terrible ways it treated its patients.

"I spent five years at that place. And by the time I got out I had only one thought in mind, that there was nothing but wickedness in the world and it was never going to get any better. I wanted to make the rest of the world suffer the way they had made me suffer, so I joined the police force. I can't even count the number of wrongful arrests I made."He sighed.

"And then I met the team, and when I did something changed. I saw the undying loyalty they had to each other. I saw the way they cared about others, and they forgave me for the wrongs I had done to them. And that was when I realised that people weren't all evil, there was good in the world, there were people who would care for me if I was one of them. That's why I wanted to join the team so badly, because I knew that if I did become one of them, they'd care about me. And they did, but now the idea of just disappearing into thin air just like that, just when I've found somewhere I belong. It just...it's just not fair."

"No" said Claudia softly and sympathetically. "No, it isn't fair after all you've been through. But ask yourself this, Danny: is it fair that millions of people will be massacred by the future predators if the timeline isn't fixed? Is it fair that your friends should die because of your fears?"

And without another word, she changed back into a cloud of mist and floated back through the anomaly, which closed behind her. Danny thought about what she had said. He looked towards the place where he had left Abby, Connor and Becker. The mother future predator had almost reached the spot.


	14. The One and Final Conflict

Abby sat cross legged next to Connor. She had never felt more helpless in her life. Everytime she looked up the mother future predator was much closer than she had been the last time. Abby reckoned that it would only be about two minutes, maybe less, before she reached the spot. And if she did reach it, she would battle the oncoming gorgonopsid and the two young future predators would survive to destroy the world. Even more worrying for Abby was Connor. His ankle was bleeding profusely, and although he was trying his best to hide it, she could tell that he was in a lot of pain. Abby had torn off part of her coat to make a bandage for Connor's ankle but it was proving to be of little use. Connor's face was getting more and more pale as he lost more blood. Abby stroked his cheek and was shocked to find it was so cold.

"Connor?" she said softly.

"Yes"

"Do you think that maybe we can stop the predators without guns?"

Connor didn't answer for a while, when he did his voice was very soft. Like that of a person on the brink of death.

"I don't know, Abby. I don't know." That told Abby all she needed to know. Connor had given up hope.

"Connor, please don't give up. Not on the mission, not on me."

"Abby?"

"Connor, I can't let you give up on me. You see, the thing is I..." She paused for a moment, initially reluctant to say the words. But then she realised that with Connor in the state he was in now, this may be the last chance she would ever get to say them.

"Connor, I love you."

A smile appeared on Connor's face. With considerable effort, he reached up to Abby and stroked the side of her chin.

"Really, you mean that?"

"Yes. I'm gonna be honest about it, Connor. I've always been in love with you, I just didn't notice it at first, I was so into Stephen at the time. And then after I found out he had an affair with Helen, I lost interest in him and I started to realise that actually, I really liked you. But I was just so stupid and proud that I didn't want to admit it to myself, or anyone else for that matter. I'm sorry, Connor. I wish I hadn't been like that." Connor smiled.

"It's ok, Abby. I've been stupid with our relationship too. Bringing Caroline home and everything like that. And I'm sorry for that. But Abby, I don't care what you may have done in the past. I love you, I've loved you ever since I first laid eyes on you in the Forest of Dean. And the knowledge that you love me too is all I'll ever want in return."

For a moment, they both smiled at each other. Then suddenly there came the sound of screaming and Abby looked up. The mother future predator had finally arrived at the spot. Already she had butchered Captain Ryan's soldiers and torn the lid off the container that had imprisoned her offspring. Now she was sinking her teeth into Ryan's collarbone. Helen had retreated a little way up the hill, only to come face to face with the gorgonopsid as it ploughed his way through the tents that the soldiers had set up. He saw the future predator and charged at her, narrowly missing Cutter. The predator threw herself at the gorgonopsid, but he easily tossed her to one side, before making his way to the box with the babies in it.

Abby knew what would happen next. The mother predator would soon get up again, and when she did she would attack the gorgonopsid and distract him from the baby predators he was meant to be eating. When that happened, two of the young predators would escape. And there was nothing anyone could do about it. Becker was out cold, and even if he wasn't, none of them had any weapons. They had no way of stopping the predators, it was over. The mission had failed. Already the mother predator was rising to her feet again and looking in the direction of the gorgonopsid.

Suddenly she let out a screech of pain and stumbled slightly. Abby saw a lone figure standing among the monkey puzzle trees in the distance. It was Danny, holding Becker's sniper rifle, which had a silencer on it so it made no sound as it was fired. He saw Abby and winked. She in turn pointed at the future predator, who was looking around, trying to detect who had shot her. Suddenly, she stood still and faced Danny. She snarled at him and then started for him. Danny turned and ran, Abby watching and hoping that her wish for the predator to kill him wouldn't come true.

* * *

Danny made for the other side of the hill, the mother future predator in hot pursuit. On one hand, she had the advantage of superhuman speed, but on the other, she also slipped regularly in the slippery volcanic soil that coated the hillside. Then again, so did Danny. He knew he could not keep this up for much longer, sooner or later the predator would catch up with him, and when she did, she would certainly kill him.

As the predator slipped for the third time, she righted herself and crouched down. Rather than continuously running, she was going to jump. She sprang forward and flew through the air, she caught Danny right in the small of the back, sedning him tumbling head over heels in the dirt. As Danny righted himself he noticed several things, in quick sucession. One was that he was only about a stone's throw away from where, Abby, Connor and Becker were. The second was that both his pistol and the one he had taken from Abby were tumbling down the hillside. The third was that the predator was now extremely close to him, her needle sharp teeth bared and aimed at his throat. Danny still had Becker's sniper rifle. He brought it up, one shot in the mouth and the predator would be down.

Unfortunately, the predator could sense Danny aiming the gun at her head. She lunged before he could get a chance to fire and yanked the gun from his grasp. For a moment she shook it as a fox might shake a hare. Then she tossed it to her right, sending it flying to the spot where the rest of the team were. She turned back to Danny. The predator had no eyes but Danny could feel all the hatred and bloodlust in the world radiating from her as she made for his throat.

She never got there though. An invisible force slammed into her, causing her to side step to Danny's right. Danny looked to his left to see Connor, lying on his belly with the smoking rifle in his hands. As the predator made for Danny once again he fired once, twice, three more times at her head, until at last she fell down on her side, her breathing heavy and laboured. Danny stood up and looked down at her. With the last of her strength, she looked up at him and made one lunge for his leg. Her jaws missed it by inches, her head slumped to the ground. She was dead.

Danny turned and headed up the hillside towards Connor. As he reached it, Connor and Abby stared at him.

"Why did you come back?" they asked in unison.

"Isn't what friends are for?" asked Danny.

"You're no friend of ours" said a cold voice. Becker had regained consicousness and was now glaring instensely at Danny. "You betrayed us, you've doomed the entire universe. That's not what friends do."

"Don't be too hard on him, Captain Becker" came the Entity's soft voice. "For Daniel here has anything but doomed the universe, instead he has saved it by slaying the mother future predator. If you do not believe me, then look to the site where Cutter and Helen now stand."

The whole team turned in the direction the Entity had stated. The gorgonopsid was leaving the campsite, his jaws stained with blood. The crate which had contained the baby future predators was completely empty and spattered with drops of blood.

"Well done, anomaly team" said the Entity. "Your mission has suceeded. Now quickly, you must hurry back to your own time period. I'm sure the rest of your team mates will want to know of the mission."

Connor groaned and looked down at his ankle. Danny bent down and offered his hand to him.

"You want some help, team leader?" Connor nodded and took Danny's hand. Danny hoisted him up and allowed him to lean on his shoulder. And then together, the team made their way back to the anomaly. As they went through it, the body of the mother future predator started to sparkle a little, as if it had been doused with those disinfectant sprays one sees on TV. Soon, the body began to sparkle more and more until eventually, the entire corpse was enveloped in a bright light. Then, as suddenly as the light had appeared, it vanished. The future predator was gone, as if it had never been there.


	15. Final Moments

As they re-entered the present, Connor, Abby, Danny and Becker were instantly greeted by and bombarded with questions from Sarah and Jenny.

"What happened?"

"What was it like?"

"Did you suceed?"

"Yeah, we did" said Connor. "The predators are all dead. Where's Lester by the way?" For Lester was not present.

"Emergency meeting with the minister, you know what he's like" said Jenny. Danny laughed a little, for he was sure that actually, Lester had gotten bored and left of his own accord.

"So has anything changed here? It's just that since we've suceeded I thought maybe there would be some pretty big changes now."

"All in good time, Daniel Quinn" came the Entity's soft voice. As he spoke, Claudia Brown's temporal spectre came floating through the anomaly, carrying the Entity in his jar. She set it down at the foot of a tree and unscrewed the lid on top. Instantly, the Entity floated out of the jar and hovered in mid air.

"The reason there are no changes so far is because the timeline is just getting used to the consequences of your mission in the Permian" he said. "It will not take long for it to adjust and revert back to its true form. And in that time I believe it would be best if the one who does not belong says their goodbyes."

With a melancholy sigh, Jenny stepped forward.

"Not you, Jennifer Lewis" said the Entity. Jenny stopped dead in her tracks and pointed at Claudia, now just a cloud of mist.

"But..but I thought I was going to disappear and then she would replace me in the true timeline."

"Not as such." said the Entity. "You are the half person I spoke of, Jennifer. When the timeline was altered by the future predators, Claudia Brown's body remained intact, but her soul was split in two. Half of it resides in your body, the other half is Claudia herself. She is all the missing parts of you, Jennifer. Rather than replacing you when the timeline is changed back to normal, she will rejoin with you. You are both part of the same person."

"But then if I'm not the one who's going to disappear, then who is?" asked Jenny.

The Entity was silent for a moment, so was everyone else present. Then, Danny stepped forward.

"It's me, isn't it? I'm the one who's going to disappear."

"Precisely" said the Entity sympathetically. "I am sorry, Daniel. But that is how it must be."

Danny sighed. "I don't want to go" he said in an almost childlike fashion. "I don't to be a temporal spectre."

"Then it is fortunate that that is not the fate that awaits you" said the Entity. "Those who became temporal spectres did so because they were removed from the timeline in which they belonged. You however do not belong in the true timeline."

"So what happens to me then?" asked Danny, and it was Claudia who answered.

"Your body is made up of millions of particles, Danny. As the timeline changes back to its true self, those particles will drift apart." She changed into her human form and pointed at Danny. "It is already happening."

Gasps of awe came from the team. Danny looked down at himself and saw that his body appeared to be...sparkling.

"That is your particles beginning to drift apart" said Claudia. "But don't worry, it's nothing to be frightened of, if anything its a good thing. You see, when your particles drift apart, they'll be able to mix and interact with the rest of the world, with everything that lives in this timeline. You'll be able to travel all over the universe, all through the timeline, and you'll be able to see all the amazing things it has to offer. And you'll be able to be part of it all."

"Well" said Danny as a smile appeared on his face. "That's not so bad then." He turned to the rest of the team as more and more sparkles began to appear all around his body. "Guys, I just want to say something. I know that when the timeline is changed back to normal, you'll probably forget me. So before I go, I just want to say to all of you, thanks. Before I met you I was just a nasty old copper with nothing but hate and anger in my soul. And you saved me from that, you showed all that was good in the world, and you gave me something to fight for. So once again, thank you, all of you."

The rest of the team moved towards Danny, tears welling in their eyes.

"Thanks for the times you saved my life, Danny" said Connor. "You've been a great friend to me, to all of us."

"Don't forget about us" said Abby, fighting back tears.

"Take it easy, Quinn" said Becker, patting Danny on the shoulder.

"Goodbye, you old troublemaker" said Sarah tearfully. Becker went up to her and held her tightly to him.

"Look after her, Becker" said Danny. He turned to Jenny and took her by the hand. Together, they walked a little way from the rest of the team, Claudia floated close behind Jenny.

"Goodbye, Danny" said Jenny softly. "You've been a credit to this team."

"You haven't been so bad yourself, Jenn" said Danny. And then he closed his eyes and moved his face closer to hers. He pursed his lips, she pursed hers. And they kissed in front of the team. It was short but full of passion. Neither was ready to pull away from each other, a tear trickled from Jenny's eye and ran down her face on to Dannys. As they kissed, Danny's body became enveloped in light, until eventually he was so brightly shining that the rest of the team had to cover their eyes. And then suddenly, the light disappeared, taking Danny Quinn with it.


	16. Happy Ending

As soon as Danny disappeared, Abby and Connor saw several things happen, simultaneously. Claudia Brown changed back into a cloud of mist. But this time she also extended tendrils of mist which began to enter Jenny's body through her eyes, nose, ears and mouth. Jenny did not resist it, if anything she simply stood there and let it come.

As that was happening, the whole world quite literally seemed to shift before Abby and Connor's eyes. Sarah and Becker disappeared right before them, as if some invisible rubber had erased them. Some trees rapidly shrank back down into saplings, whilst others skyrocketed to enormous heights. The whole world seemed to be spinning around, it was as if they were all stuck in the middle of some giant whirlpool. Abby and Connor held each other tightly and closed their eyes. As they did so, they saw previous anomaly missions flash in front of them. There was the one with the embolotherium, the terror birds, the mammoth, the smilodon, the raptors. Then suddenly their ears exploded as a loud crash like a clap of thunder sounded, then another and another and then after that...

* * *

"You may open your eyes now, Abby and Connor" said the Entity. Abby and Connor did as they were told. The anomaly was still there, so was the Entity and his jar. But where Jenny Lewis had once stood, instead there was another woman. Almost completely identical to Jenny, but anyone could tell that this was not her. This woman was Claudia Brown, a temporal spectre no longer, but a living, breathing human once more. She ran her hands around her body, as if to make sure that it was all still there.

"I'm back" she said, almost in disbelief. "We're back in the real timeline. Oh, Connor, Abby."

She went forward to embrace them. They shared a long hug with each other.

"We remember you now, Claudia" said Connor. The bullet in his ankle was now gone.

"How does it feel to be human again?" asked Abby.

"Oh its brilliant" said Claudia. "I feel so alive!"

"That's good" said the Entity. "You'll need to be, you will all need to be for what is coming next."

"What is it now?" asked Connor.

"Remember how I said that Helen Cutter's meddling had weakened me?" said the Entity. "Well I may be healing, but I won't be able to have complete control over the anomalies for a while. So in the meantime, I'll need someone to keep them in check. In fact, I have something that will probably be of great use to you."

He held out what appeared to be his hand. A transluscent, golden cylinder shimmered in mid air above it, becoming more and more clear until eventually...

"The artifact" said Connor, even though he barely remembered this thing now.

"In the alternative timeline, this was lost to me" said the Entity. "But now I give it to you as a gift to predict anomaly openings. It is a map of every anomaly that ever has and ever will be, but it will require a special kind of technology to use it. I'm sure you will be able to invent that, Connor."

"You think?" said Connor.

"I know" replied the Entity.

"Can I just ask a question?" said Abby.

"Go on" replied the Entity.

"You say that the future predators were going to be created by Johnson's scientists in the present, so how did they come to be in the future before the timeline was changed?"

"They didn't" replied the Entity. "The future predator is not like any other predator that ever has or will exist. It kills whether or not it is hungry, it's psyche is only programmed for blind killing. No creature like that could ever have evolved naturally. There are dark forces out there in the universe, ones who have long plotted to throw time into turmoil. The future predator was their creation, their means of making that happen, which they planted in the Permian for Helen Cutter to find. Now that their ultimate weapon has failed to bring chaos to the universe, I doubt that they will try something like it again. Now I must return to the Spaghetti Junction, and you to your headquarters, Claudia shall show you the way."

As he spoke a new anomaly appeared right next to the already open one to the Permian.

"Goodbye, Entity" said Claudia.

"Goodbye, Claudia Brown" said the Entity. "I shall live for many thousands of years to come, and I shall never forget you. Any of you. Thank you."

And with that, he floated through the anomaly he had just opened for the last time. As he disappeared through it, it and the other anomaly closed simultaneously. Claudia stepped forward towards Abby and Connor.

"Right well, time I showed you around this timeline. Come on, my car's not far away."

She turned and headed for the edge of the forest, Abby and Connnor following close behind.

"Where is our headquarters now?" asked Connor, although in the back of his mind he could sort of remember where.

"You'll see" said Claudia as they reached her car. They got in and soon were heading off along the motorway to London, it wasn't long before they were winding their way through the city's congested roads unti finally, Claudia pulled up at the team's headquarters.

"The Home Office?" said Abby in astonishment. Half of her barely remembered this place, but the other half felt like this had always been the anomaly team's headquarters.

"Yes, this is it" said Claudia as she held open the door for Abby and Connor. As they entered they saw Becker standing the lobby with several other soldiers including...

"Captain Ryan" said Claudia as she approached him.

"Miss Brown" said Ryan in reply. "I trust the anomaly mission went well."

"Oh yes, not a scratch on anyone" said Claudia as if they had simply gone for a run in the park.

"Well, I'm sure that that's the result of my excellent Lieutenant here" said Ryan, patting Becker on the shoulder. "Anymore good jobs like that Becker, and I'm pretty sure you'll get a promotion to Captain."

"Thank you, sir" said Lieutenant Becker. He turned to Claudia, Abby and Connor. "You'd best get upstairs, Lester's waiting for you."

"Darling" called a familiar voice. Abby and Connor turned to see a bespectacled Sarah Page make her way towards Becker, carrying a sheet of paper. "I've just finished this report for Lester, I'm wondering if you think it'll be enough." She handed the sheet to Becker who took a quick look at it before handing it back to her.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Sarah." He lowered his voice a little although Abby and Connor could still here what he said next. "And if Lester thinks otherwise, I'll shoot him for you" he whispered jokingly.

"Lieutenant" said Ryan warningly. Becker straightened himself up.

"Sorry sir".

"We'll see you later then" said Claudia as she lead Abby and Connor to the lifts.

"What just happened there with Sarah and Becker?" asked Connor as the lift went up.

"Oh well, they got married a couple of months ago in this timeline" said Claudia. "She kept her maiden name though."

As the lift doors opened, she lead Abby and Connor through the myriad of office tables that made up the Home Office. Lester's office was at the far end of the room, as they entered it, Connor saw the Anomaly Detector and the Anomaly Locking Device sitting in a corner.

"You wanted to see us, Lester" said Claudia. Lester looked up from some paperwork he had been filling in.

"Ah Claudia, Abby, Connor. Have a seat. I just wanted to let you know that you only have about two weeks here in the Home Office."

"What do you mean?" asked Connor.

"Are you a complete idiot, Temple or do you just like to pretend to be one" snapped Lester impatiently. "The Anomaly Research Centre is almost complete. Why don't you take a look?"

He swivelled round in his chair and turned on the widescreen TV on the wall in his office. There on the screen was the ARC, covered in scafolding but unmistakeably the ARC.

"The builders say it's nearing the end of its final stage of construction" said Lester. "And like I said, you'll be able to move in in about two weeks." He turned to Connor. "Which means you will have to move these hideous eyesores out of my office, Temple" he said, pointing at the Anomaly Detector and Locking Device.

At that moment, a loud blaring siren went off. Lester groaned and covered his ears. Connor went up to the detector, the anomaly on the screen was being homed in on.

"It's in central London" he said, turning off the siren.

"Well then for God's sake get to work on it!" snapped Lester. He turned on the intercom on his desk. "Christine, send the rest of the anomaly team up here. I've already got Claudia, Connor and Abby."

"Right away sir" came Christine Johnson's voice over the intercom. Shortly afterwards, Ryan, Becker and Sarah entered the room. Lester groaned.

"Where is the team leader? Why is he always late?"

"I'm just here, Lester" came a deep voice. Abby and Connor perked up immediately, they had heard that voice before and never once had they thought they would hear it again. The door of Lester's office was transluscent, which meant that they could not quite see the person approaching the office. THey could make out a tall person with blond hair and they scarcely believed it when he entered the office. This was the man they both thought they would never see again, and yet here he was, in the flesh.

Nick Cutter.

He went up to the anomaly detector and looked at the location of the anomaly. Then he turned around and looked at the team.

"Let's go!"


	17. Epilogue

In the true timeline, the following things seen in Series Two and Three were changed:

-Future predators: As you have probably guessed by now, the future predators no longer exist in the true timeline.

-Connor meeting Caroline: This never happened in the true timeline as Leek did not exist, so he could not tell Caroline to spy on Connor and Abby.

-The Precambrian anomaly: This anomaly never opened in the true timeline.

-The M25 anomaly: This anomaly never opened in the true timeline, which was just as well for the team. After all, where would they keep a mammoth at the Home Office?

-Stephen's death: This did happen in the true timeline, but under different circumstances. Rather than being killed by multiple creatures in Leek's Bunker, Stephen was instead killed by one of the raptors that came through the shopping centre anomaly.

-Sarah and Becker's relationship: Becker quickly became interested in Sarah after she joined the anomaly team. When he had the time, he took to dating her and a year later, asked her to marry him, which she did.

- The Camoflage Beast: The anomaly to futuristic Madagascar did open in the true timeline, but nobody was around at the time. So with nothing to hunt, the creature soon returned to its own era.

-Nick Cutter's death: As you have seen, Nick was not killed by Helen in the true timeline.

-Mick Harper: Because the M25 anomaly never opened, Mick Harper was not aware of the anomalies until the G-Rex showed up. But fortunately he was quickly eaten by the dinosaur.

-Christine Johnson: Far from being the military liason to the anomaly team, in the true timeline, Christine is Lester's secretary.

-The Scrapyard anomaly: This anomaly never opened in the true timeline. Which was also just as well for the team because a dracorex is no less difficult to take care of at the Home Office than a mammoth.

With Nick Cutter returned, the anomaly team was able to function the way that had always done before his death in the alternative timeline. Connor for one was glad to relinquish his team leader duties to Cutter, as he felt that only Cutter could truly lead the team. That meant that he (Connor) was able to spend more time with Abby, and their relationship skyrockected over the next few months, until one day, Connor got down on one knee and presented Abby with a magnificent engagement ring. Needless to say, Abby said yes and she and Connor married a month later, Cutter and Claudia's own wedding followed six months after that. Shortly after her wedding, Abby discovered that she was two months pregnant with Connor's child, and on November the 27th, 2009, she gave birth to a healthy son: Nick Temple.

As for the anomalies, they continued to open in their haphazard ways for about three more years. But after that, they started to open less and less for about two years, until finally, after several years of opening, the anomalies returned to their usual pattern. There would be no more openings, at least, not for five to six years anyway.

The End.


End file.
